T-2 toxin triggers immunotoxic effects in goats by inducing ferroptosis and neutrophil extracellular traps

T-2 toxin, a prevalent mycotoxin, represents a notable global public health risk. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and ferroptosis are involved in a variety of pathophysiological processes and are implicated in goat immunity. However, the impact of T-2 toxin on NETs release, ferroptosis, and their interplay have not been previously documented. In this study, neutrophils were stimulated with T-2 toxin for 4 h. The structure and mechanism of NETs were analyzed using immunofluorescence and Pico Green staining. The expressions of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and ferritin (FT) was quantified by qRT-PCR and western blotting. The levels of ROS and lipid ROS were assessed using DCFH-DA and C11 BODIPY 581/591 probes, and cellular mitochondria Fe²⁺ were detected by using Mito-FerroGreen probe. Inhibitors were utilized to explore the interaction between these two processes. The results confirmed that the T-2 toxin stimulated the NETs production, characterized by a structure co-modified by citrullinated histones (citH3), neutrophil elastase (NE) and DNA. Notably, significant inhibition of NETs production by T-2 toxin was observed with the NOX inhibitor DPI (P < 0.001), the ERK inhibitor U0126 (P < 0.001), the TLR2 inhibitor C29 (P < 0.001), and the TLR4 inhibitor TLR4-IN-C34 (P < 0.001). T-2 toxin triggered ferroptosis in neutrophils by suppressing GPX4 and FT expression, elevating ROS and lipid ROS, and augmenting the concentration of mitochondrial Fe²⁺. The ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1 could rescue this induction; however, Fer-1 was unable to inhibit NETs which is induced by T-2 toxin. Conversely, T-2 toxin effectively triggered the downregulation of GPX4, which was counteracted by DPI, U0126, C29, and C34. This research elucidates the immunotoxic mechanisms of T-2 toxin in goat neutrophils and offers a novel perspective on preventing and treating T-2 toxin.